The advancement and promotion of innovative teaching and pedagogy in the decision sciences are key elements of the mission of the Decision Sciences Institute. At the President’s Luncheon during the 2013 Annual Meeting, the 35th presentation of this prestigious award, co-sponsored by Alpha Iota Delta (the national honorary in the decision sciences), Prentice Hall, and the Institute, will be made.     

The Instructional Innovation Award is presented to recognize outstanding creative instructional approaches within the decision sciences. Its focus is innovation in college or university-level teaching, either quantitative systems and/or behavioral methodology in its own right, or within or across functional/disciplinary areas such as finance, marketing, management information systems, operations, and human resources.

The award brings national recognition for the winner’s institution and a cash prize of $1,500 to be split among the authors of the winning submission. Authors of each of the remaining finalist entries share $750. Author(s) of the finalists will be invited to submit a revised version of their papers for possible publication in the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education.

Submissions not selected for the final round of the competition will be considered for presentation in a regular session associated with the conference’s Innovative Education track. Therefore, competition participants should not submit a condensed version of their submission to a regular track. Please do not resubmit previous finalist entries.

All submissions must adhere to the following guidelines and must be received no later than April 1, 2013.

Instructions

Applications must be submitted in electronic form using instructions on the DSI annual  meeting website. A tentative summary of instructions appears below; however, applicants should consult the website instructions before submitting. Submissions will be electronically submitted using the conference website.

Electronic Submission Notes

1. Number of documents and their format: The electronic submission must consist of one document, in PDF format, completely contained in one file. Graphics and images may be integrated into this one document, but no separate or attached files of any kind are permitted. No audio, video, or other multimedia of any form can be included. Nothing may be separately submitted by any other means, including disks, videotapes, notebooks, etc.

2. Anonymity: Include no applicant names, school names, websites, or other identifying information in your document. This information is captured separately on the electronic submission form. Applicants not adhering to this policy will be ineligible for consideration.

Document Format

1. Length: Your one electronically submitted document can be no more than 30 total pages when formatted for printing.

2. Title Page: On the first page, provide the title of the submission. Number all pages in your submission.

3. Abstract/Innovation Summary: On the second page, explain why your submission provides a new innovative approach to teaching. This will be more detailed than the abstract entered on the conference website. In the first round of reviews, the abstract/ innovation summary will be used to narrow down the list of entries. Therefore, it is critical that you draft an excellent summary.

4. Detail Section: Provide detail about your submission, with the following headings:

a. Introduction:
   •  Topic or problem toward which your approach is focused.
   •  Level of students toward which our approach is focused.
   •  Number of students with whom the approach has been used.
   •  Major educational objectives of your approach.
   •  Innovative and unique features of your approach.

b. Relevant Literature: Appropriate literature supporting and/or motivating your innovative approach.

c. Innovation: Unique features of your approach and how your approach contributes to student learning.

d. Implementation: Explain:
   •  How you structured the material or content.
   •  How you designed the explanation and illustration of the material or content.
   •  How its use makes learning more effective.
   •  An evaluation plan that includes both a strategy for monitoring the approach and for evaluating its effectiveness.

e. Effectiveness and specific benefits of your approach to the learning process: Indicate:
   •  How your major educational objectives were met.
   •  Benefits derived from the presentation.
   •  Students’ reactions to the presentation.
   •  Results of the evaluation of the effectiveness or benefits derived.

AACSB stresses the use of outcomes assessment, therefore it is essential to include measures of the success of the approach, which may include, but should not be limited to, instructor or course evaluations.

f. Transferability and Implications for Educators: Explain how this innovation could be used by other institutions, professors, or courses.

g. References: You may include in appendices:
   •  Experiential exercises, handouts, etc. (if any), that are part of your innovative approach and explain where they fit in.
   •  Any other discussion or material that you feel is essential to an understanding of your submission.

The total length of your electronically submitted document, including appendices, must not exceed 30 pages. The text must be double-spaced, using 11-12 point characters, and a minimum of one-inch margins.

Statement of Endorsement

In addition to your document, send a letter via e-mail to the competition coordinator (address and e-mail given below) from your department chair, or dean (or equivalent) attesting to the submission’s value.

Evaluation

The materials will be evaluated by the Institute’s Innovative Education Committee. All submissions will be blind reviewed. Therefore, it is important that all references to the author(s) and institutional affiliation are entered only on the electronic submission form and do not appear anywhere in the submitted document itself.

The submissions will be evaluated in two phases. In Phase 1 the Committee members will read the submissions and select up to three as finalists. All submissions will be evaluated for (1) content, (2) supporting literature, (3) innovation, (4) implementation, (5) effectiveness of the approach, and (6) transferability to other institutions, professors, courses, etc. Consideration will be given to the clarity of the presentation. In Phase 2, the finalists will make an oral presentation at the annual meeting. Both the written submission and oral presentation will be considered in the final voting for the award.

All applicants, including the finalists, will be notified by June 15, 2013. Finalists must attend the Instructional Innovation Award Competition Session at the annual meeting in Baltimore to be eligible to win. At that session, each finalist will:

1.  Present a review or summary of the submission.

2.  Conduct an in-depth presentation or a discussion of a specific component of the submission (selected by the finalist).

3.  Respond to questions from the judges and the audience.

You don’t have to constrain your presentation to use of slides alone. Please strive to use an effective method of presenting your instructional innovation so that the audiences are able to understand the significance of your contribution in a limited time period.

This session has two purposes: (1) to provide an avenue for the Institute’s members to see and discuss innovative approaches to education which could be used in their classes, and (2) to enable the authors of the innovative packages to “bring their approaches to life” and add another dimension to the evaluation process.

The Committee invites your participation in this competition to recognize excellence in innovative instruction. Please remember that all submissions must be received by April 1, 2013. 

Applications may be submitted by email with the required materials to:

Instructional Innovation Award Competition Coordinator
Kaushik Sengupta, Hofstra University
kaushik.sengupta@hofstra.edu

 

See past winners including several award-winning submissions